Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Little Lucky Star
"My Jiaojiao is so well-behaved. She never cries or fusses. She’ll eat rice water, goat’s milk, fish broth—she’s not a picky eater at all. And she even whimpers to let us know when she needs changing."
The Yun family’s boys also boasted proudly, "My sister is so good when she eats. She’s always smiling at us—she really likes us!"
"My sister is the prettiest and most well-behaved girl in the whole village."
And... it was hard to argue with that.
Just look at Little Yun Jiao’s face. Even though she was just a baby, she was truly beautiful.
Those big eyes, and those eyelashes! No other child had lashes as thick and curly as Yun Jiao’s. Her hair was thick, and her little arms and legs were so plump.
As if on cue, the praised Yun Jiao broke into a smile.
It was a soft, sweet smile.
Aside from being a little bossy when it came to food, Yun Jiao was well-behaved the rest of the time, and her smile was enough to melt anyone’s heart.
Shen Yunlian and the Yun family’s boys showed her off to everyone they met.
Later, while foraging on the beach, a few of the women gathered, and their conversation naturally turned to Yun Jiao.
"I’ve lived a long time, and I’ve never seen such a beautiful baby. No wonder Yun Linhai’s family wanted to adopt her."
Someone rolled their eyes. "No matter how pretty she is, she’s not their own flesh and blood. She’s a girl, to boot. Once she’s married off, they’ll have nothing to show for it."
Another person disagreed. "I think it’s great. The Yun Linhai family has so many sons. No matter how much you might prefer boys, having that many makes them less of a novelty. A beautiful little girl, on the other hand, is a real treasure."
Those who favored boys over girls remained unconvinced.
"Ah! Ah!"
Shen Yunlian, with Yun Jiao strapped to her back, was squatting and digging in the sand just like the other village women. They were searching for sand clams and other snails buried within, food to take home for their families.
Suddenly, Yun Jiao, who had been quiet on her back, started to cry out. Shen Yunlian quickly shifted the baby into her arms.
"What’s wrong, Jiaojiao? Are you hungry?"
"Ah!"
Yun Jiao struggled to point a chubby, uncooperative finger in a specific direction, letting out two more cries.
’There’s something over there.’
But then her eyes fixed on the sand clam in Shen Yunlian’s hand. ’I’ve never eaten such a tiny seashell before. I wonder if it’s tasty.’
Shen Yunlian chuckled and tapped her little nose. "I can’t give you this."
"Ah!"
’Hmph! Once I learn to walk, I’ll dig one up and try it myself.’ She went back to pointing in the same direction.
Although Shen Yunlian didn’t understand, she found herself inexplicably heading in the direction the baby was pointing.
There, under a rock, she saw a snake-like creature writhing as it tried to squeeze into a crevice.
Holding Yun Jiao in one arm, she acted fast, her other hand snatching the creature’s tail.
It was so slippery. It took her several tries to finally yank the wriggling thing out and toss it onto the sand.
Staring at it, Shen Yunlian’s heart pounded with excitement.
"It’s a giant sea eel! This thing must weigh at least five or six pounds."
She almost lost her grip. Shen Yunlian quickly flung the eel onto the sand, then, still holding the baby in one arm, rushed over and pinned the giant eel with her foot.
She didn’t dare try to grab it with her hands; these things have a nasty bite.
Then, she grabbed her bucket, laid it on its side on the ground, and kicked the eel inside.
Shen Yunlian was grinning from ear to ear. She couldn’t resist turning to plant a kiss on Little Yun Jiao’s soft, pale cheek.
"Jiaojiao, you really are Mama’s little lucky star! This eel will sell for quite a few yuan!"
Yun Jiao’s eyes curved into crescents as she broke into a toothless smile.
Yun Xiaowu called out, "Mom, what are you doing over there? You can’t let my sister get near the seawater, she’s too little! She’ll catch a cold if she gets wet."
The seven-year-old boy was worrying like a mother hen.
Shen Yunlian was in such a good mood that she wasn’t the least bit annoyed by her son’s nagging.
"Look! Our Jiaojiao is a true lucky star. If it weren’t for her, I never would have found this eel."
"WHOA!!!"
The Yun brothers beamed when they saw the eel.
"Let’s go, let’s go! Mom, we have to sell this eel quickly, before it dies!"
The group hurried toward the seafood purchasing point.
The purchasing point in their village was a private business run by one of the locals.
He was also distantly related to the Yun family.
The owner was the youngest son of Mr. Yun’s cousin.
"Well now, what have you brought me today?"
Seeing Shen Yunlian arrive with a troop of boys, the middle-aged man, who had been weighing another person’s catch, stood up and greeted them with a cheerful smile.
Shen Yunlian showed him the contents of her bucket.
"Ah Wang, take a look. How much can I get for this eel?"
"Whoa, you caught this just from foraging on the shore? You’ve got some incredible luck."
Shen Yunlian, with Yun Jiao on her back, smiled. "Yes, it was our Jiaojiao who found this big eel."
Yun Wang’s gaze fell upon the little girl on her back.
Yun Jiao was resting quietly on Shen Yunlian’s back, her big eyes darting about with curiosity. She was a soft, pale little bundle, looking just like a sweet rice dumpling.
Yun Wang was completely charmed, his tone tinged with envy.
"She’s so beautiful. No wonder you decided to raise her."
’Most people who found such a beautiful child wouldn’t have the heart to abandon her,’ he thought.
The giant sea eel weighed a total of six and a half jin. Because its meat was delicious and a rare catch, the price was higher than for ordinary seafood: one yuan and twenty cents per jin. It sold for a total of 7.8 yuan.
Besides the eel, the Yun family had also found three swimming crabs during their forage, weighing a total of two jin and three liang. These sold for one yuan per jin, netting them another three yuan.
The rest of their haul consisted of sand clams and oysters, which weren’t worth much money, so they would take those home to eat themselves.
"That’s ten yuan and eighty cents in total."
That was the way of shore foraging. On a bad day, you’d get next to nothing—at best, an extra dish for the dinner table, saving a tiny bit of grocery money.
But on a good day, like today, the earnings could surpass a full day’s wage for an adult working on the fishing boats.
Shen Yunlian held the ten yuan and eighty cents with a wide smile. Her luck today had been incredible. Over ten yuan! She had never earned so much from foraging before.
She said her goodbyes to Yun Wang, then, with Yun Jiao on her back, she called her sons and headed for home.
When she got back and told the family what had happened, they all started to cherish Yun Jiao even more.
"Our Jiaojiao truly was a gift from the Dragon King. She’s so spiritually aware."
The village was called Bailong Village precisely because of their belief in the Dragon King. Legend had it that long, long ago, a white dragon was seen soaring through the clouds and mist by the shore, and thus the village got its name.
Yun Jiao blinked her big, innocent eyes, not quite understanding what they were saying.
"Ah... ah..."
’Food.’
"Jiaojiao must be hungry. The goat’s milk is all warmed up."
Yun Jiao sat on Granny Yun’s lap, contentedly drinking her goat’s milk.
Lately, her gums had been itchy, and she always wanted something to gnaw on.
So she clamped her mouth down on the spoon and refused to let go.
It was a wooden spoon, polished until it was perfectly smooth, so there was no danger of it hurting her mouth.
Granny Yun gently squeezed her chubby cheeks to peek inside her mouth. On her upper gum, right where her front teeth should be, a tiny white speck, like a grain of rice, was poking through. It looked adorable.
"Jiaojiao’s teething! Eldest, you’ll have to carve a teething stick from bamboo for her soon."
A teething stick was a small, exclamation-point-shaped piece of wood, about the size of a child’s finger. It was polished smooth and tied to the baby’s wrist with a string. It was perfect for teething infants, who loved to stick things in their mouths.
After that first trip to the shore with Shen Yunlian, Yun Jiao would start babbling and fussing every few days, demanding to go foraging again.
One trip after another, the family began to notice that whenever Yun Jiao came along, their earnings from the sea were always a bit higher.
"Jiaojiao really is our family’s little lucky star~"
Yun Jiao stared at the fragrant dishes on the dinner table and babbled insistently, but she was only allowed to look, not eat.
Her little cheeks puffed out in a pout. She then turned her head and presented her back to everyone, sulking in a little huff.
HAHAHA...
Everyone burst out laughing at her antics.
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